Abstract

Chapter 11 discussed the development of behavior through childhood. By the time a person enters primary school, there are obvious similarities in how she or he behaves under particular circumstances. Each of us also behaves in ways both similar to and different from other individuals. Any attempt to understand behavior must account for these similarities and differences. Psychologists are referring to these behavioral similarities and differences when they use terms such as intelligence, personality, and social behavior. For example, when we say that someone has an aggressive personality, we are saying that under certain circumstances this person will predictably behave aggressively. Other individuals, however, may or may not behave aggressively under those same circumstances. The topics of intelligence, personality, and social behavior have long interested psychologists, and we consider them in this chapter, including how scientific psychology would approach the same topics.